Composer: Janet Lanier (2003)
Hymn Tune: RETREAT, Thomas Hastings (1842)
Instrumentation: Oboe and Piano (opt. flute, English horn, or Bb clarinet)
Performance
Oboe and Piano performance by Alana Laufman. As this blog progresses, I will learn how to hook up my recording devices to my computer and how to edit videos to create a higher quality product!
About
Janet Lanier has a many hymn arrangements that are lovely for oboe and English horn, primarily because she is an oboist and English hornist. The oboe/English horn parts fall into a comfortable register and play easily. The piano part is straight forward and does not require a professional (notice that I recorded my own piano part). The music relies on an eighth note pulse, so the parts line-up naturally, which lends itself to minimal rehearsal. Lanier does a lovely job developing from the basic melody into an exploratory development section in the parallel minor, which creates an interesting interpretation that is still accessible to congregants.
Text
The text for "We Bless the Name of Christ the Lord" refers to the textual setting by Samuel F. Coffman, which is a Baptism hymn. Note that the specific hymn tune is "Retreat" by Thomas Hastings (we should be aware of both the melody and the text that accompanies the melody). Whenever we have a text for Baptism, we can schedule it on a Baptism Sunday, during Epiphany when we celebrate the Baptism of Jesus, on Trinity Sunday (because we Baptize into the name of the Triune God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit), and also may be used generally because worship opens with an invocation of the Trinity; "We worship in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen."
1. We bless the name of Christ the Lord,
We bless Him for His holy Word,
Who loved to do His Father's will,
And all His righteousness fulfill.
2. We follow Him with pure delight
To sanctify His sacred rite:
And thus our faith with water seal,
To prove obedience that we feel.
3. Baptized in God the Father, Son,
And Holy Spirit--Three in One,
With conscience free, we rest in God,
In love and peace thro' Jesus' blood.
4. By grace we "Abba, Father" cry;
By grace the Comforter comes nigh;
And for Thy grace our love shall be
Forever, only, Lord, for Thee.
Lutheran Application
I love this melody and find that it will fit well in the liturgical church year however, neither the hymn text nor the melody "Retreat" is in Christian Worship (the hymnal of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod, of which I am affiliated). The question is, why is it not in the hymnal? The text of the second verse comes from a Reformed background because it implies choice theology and promotes "feeling" saved ("For the wages of sin is death, but the undeserved gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 6:23). However, it is standard practice in hymnals to modify hymns by removing verses for either doctrinal reasons or length, so other than the two lines in the second verse, the rest of the hymn is doctrinally sound according to confessional Lutheranism.
We can still use unfamiliar music like this in worship services to glorify God and to help parishioners meditate on God's word. The oboist should prepare the congregation with printed program notes. I would provide the text for verses 1, 3, and 4 and notes regarding the connection between the Trinity and the pertinent Biblical text of the day. These program notes will help the congregants use the music of which they are unfamiliar to meditate on the scripture reading of the day. Hymns are historically used as prayer books, so providing the text for a new hymn is indeed beneficial.
The performance time of 4:28 makes the piece more suitable for a prelude than an offertory (unless your church is very, very large). The timing also makes for a nice filler piece for a recital.
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